Lūg Dispense: Automated Dispensation System of Medicines in Unit Doses

Currently we are working on the final phase of our new project, which is based in the Lūg Traza experience. Lūg Dispense is a unit dose system that identifies, packs and dispenses medication for hospitalized patients, on an automated and integrated manner.
Lūg Dispense makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the process of drugs dispensation, in unit doses, at hospital. Lūg Dispense improves the drug information management, reduces the infirmary and pharmacy personnel time spent in logistic and administrative tasks, and manages and controls drugs use and enforces the observance of related hospital policies.
Lūg Dispense is composed of three building blocks, Processing, Storing and Dispensing. The first two of them (processing and storing) are located in the central pharmacy of the hospital and equipment of a third type (dispensing) is located at every serviced floor, that are:
• Processing: Located at the pharmacy central facility, this block receives drugs from suppliers, splits them into individual doses and packs them in mono-product cartridges that pass through the rest of the drugs circuit at the hospital.
• Storing: Located also the pharmacy central facility, this block arranges and stores the unit-dose cartridges into monitored racks, centralizing logistics to the Dispensing block.
Being these two blocks located at the pharmacy central facility of the hospital, the unit-dose cartridges are delivered to the third block, Dispensing, which is distributed thorugout hospital floors.
• Dispensing: This block comprises floor dispensers, which receive and store cartridges with different drugs. Each dispenser picks unit-dose drugs from cartridges and packs them in small bags accordingly to patient prescriptions. Labeling of bags eliminates risk of errors at administration. Being located near patients, floor dispensers guarantee that they receive the correct unit-dose prescriptions.
The project “Sistema automatizado con trazabilidad total para la dispensación de medicamentos mediante dosis unitarias en farmacia hospitalaria” has received the support of the R&D Project Line of the Spanish “Centro Tecnológico para el Desarrollo Industrial” (CDTI), with file number IDI-20181287. This project has been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with the aim of promoting technological development, innovation and quality research. A way to make Europe.
